Album review: Various Artists – “Pay No Attention: Cincinnati Punk Rock Vol.1 – The ’90s”

Totally Radams – 28 Jul 2023

This lovingly assembled audio document allows everyone to experience Cincinnati’s ’90s punk scene.

If you get your hands on a copy of Pay No Attention: Cincinnati Punk Rock Vol.1 – The ‘90s, your reaction will likely be similar to mine. You’ll wish that someone had chronicled the scene you grew up in with such loving care. I’m confident that many unsung cities had a thriving scene worthy of such treatment. 

The genesis of Pay No Attention was a plan to make a documentary. While that has yet to materialize, the would-be-soundtrack is 40 bands contributing 40 songs across two LPs. As would be expected, the sound quality varies greatly. Some of the recordings would barely qualify as demos, while others are fairly polished. The only band I knew were The Slobs, who occasionally played my Grand Rapids, MI scene in the mid ‘90s. The Slobs released a twelve-inch and three seven-inches between ‘92-‘96, mostly on their own Centsless Productions. The snotty “Weirdo” from their 1996 LP Down the Tubes is among the highlights.

A lot of the songs could be described as snotty, although they run the full punk gamut. There’s pop punk, classic ‘77 style, hardcore, and everything in between. (Mercifully, there is no ska save the occasional short breakdown.) I can’t imagine the work it took to hunt down all these (mostly) defunct bands. This is also the first time many of these bands have ever appeared on vinyl. I hesitate to even attempt to pick favorites. Suffice it to say that there’s something here for everyone.

The Sarcastix, Archie & The Pukes, Pincushion, The Slobs, No Good Heroes, The Mortals, The Essentials, Fourteen, Präparation H, Danger Mice, Snotboy 77, Captain Destiny & The Motor Medics, Bloody Discharge, The Dastardlys, Deceiving Ralph, The Effrays, Shoot The Gift, Restraint, Only A Ninja Can Kill Another Ninja, Spodie, The Long Gones, Chemo Kids, Saturday Supercade, Nether Eye, The Muzzies, Brand X, DropkickMeJesus, Sponge Monkeys, Rip Rock & Raunch, The Scrubs, Chapter 11, Tugboat, Duggout, Gojira, The Socials, Fungus, Dixie Trash, The Geriatrix, East Arcadia, and The Twerps. 

The names might not be familiar, but for a bunch of people now in their 40s or even 50s they represent something significant. A piece of their youth that likely shaped the rest of their lives. It was fun to be a voyeur into this long gone scene. I could feel (and almost smell) the energy and excitement in these chunks of wax. The sounds captured in their grooves allowed me to experience a little piece of previously undocumented history. Maybe more importantly, Pay No Attention: Cincinnati Punk Rock Vol.1 – The ‘90s, was able to transport me back to my own salad days. 

For vinyl fiends: First press of this double LP is limited to 500 copies on classic black. The full color cover art is made up of old show fliers. There’s also a really nice, full size, 16 page black and white booklet with additional band info.